Car Buying Help

For cheap and used, have you thought about going to an auto auction?

Eyashusa_sl said:

For cheap and used, have you thought about going to an auto auction?

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You really have to know what the fuck you are doing to go to an auto auction. There is a reason why not a whole lot of people do it anymore. If it is a car worth buying then you will get outbidded by the big dealership groups. When I worked at CARMAX there basic philosophy was to corner the market on the BEST used cars whether that be from auctions or private sellers. That is pretty much turned into the philosophy of Autonation, Penske, Group 1, Sonic, Asbury, Lithia etc etc. Not to mention make sure you bring someone who is mechanically inclined on the vehicle you will or want to purchase. Not saying it is not viable, just saying you have to really come prepared to make sure you dont lose your ass on a vehicle that you have to instantly commit to buy once you bid.

Kinkle_sl said:

Hold out for self-driving cars imo.

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Dumb question, but livig in a very rural area how is a self driving car going to manauever in places where there is no defined road etc...? I guess commuting self driving cars would be OK. Wouldn't be worth a damn in a truck I think.

OUAriakas_sl said:

I was actually more wondering about the condition of the vehicles in those tiny lots. I pay all cash for my used vehicles and was thinking about trying to hard ball one of them on a cheap SUV because I inherited my wife's shitty Mazda 3.

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Depends on the region. Small lots here are really popular for certain types of vehicles. You see lots of them with only trucks on the lot here. I never really see cars. Guys pick up a used truck for driving to work, they want one semi reliable and don't care what it looks like since the paint will come off in a short time of parking in the lot at work. If you want a nice car you go the dealeship or buy from an individual.

Where is this self driving car? the google one!? I want to sleep on the way to work..

No shit I have a 1-1/2 hour commute each way. BUt they would have to make a truck version and put normal controls on it. I can't imagine a refinery, chemical plant, or nuke plant allowing me sit there and have a self driving car tool me around on site.

I drive an extremely low amount (~4.5k miles/yr). Should this be a factor pushing me towards a newer car (1-2 years old) over something cheaper (3-4 years old)? Basically, my reasoning is that virtually any used car is going to have a lot more miles on it per year than I would put on it, usually by a factor of 3-5x. Is the logic of paying a more up front for lower mileage when I won't be driving it that much sound? I'll probably drive whatever I get into the ground like my current car.

At 4.5k miles per year how long do you have to keep a car to run it into the ground? That seems extremely low.

Well I've had it for 12 years and it is a '94 accord. Fixing the air conditioner costs more than the car is worth now. It actually runs fine, but I need an air conditioner here it gets to >100. ~120k miles but 20-21 years is a long time for a car I would say.

I put ~250k miles on my '95 accord before I sold it. Yours is just getting broke in.

Zolek_sl said:

Well I've had it for 12 years and it is a '94 accord. Fixing the air conditioner costs more than the car is worth now. It actually runs fine, but I need an air conditioner here it gets to >100. ~120k miles but 20-21 years is a long time for a car I would say.

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That thinking about not fixing something because it costs more than the car is just horse shit. Knowing the condition of your car, calculate the cost of the repair with how much longer the car will be drivable vs the cost of a replacement car where you may or may not know the true condition of the car. If the car does what you need it to do and you aren't unhappy with it, stick with it. You can easily get 200K+ out of a Honda.

My 10 year old Xterra is starting to have transmission trouble again after having it replaced around 88,000 miles. Needless to say, I'm ready to get rid of this thing in a hurry. A coworker just leased a Nissan Leaf for $270 a month with $1500 down, but that thing looks like a damn smurf. I'm considering a Volt, and wondered if anyone out there had one.

Best way to finance is Capital One auto loans. You get a check ahead of time with a fixed amount you can spend and APR based on the car you buy(new or used and how many miles) and the terms you have pre set. Like walking in with cash. You find the car you want tell them the price you want to pay and don't let them try to "run it through their finance department". Bought my last 2 cars that way and it was so easy and less stressful. And for people who don't know shit about pricing capital one will not allow dealerships to charge more than 5 or 10% of the msrp, still high but keeps people from getting raked.

Psypher_sl said:

That thinking about not fixing something because it costs more than the car is just horse shit. Knowing the condition of your car, calculate the cost of the repair with how much longer the car will be drivable vs the cost of a replacement car where you may or may not know the true condition of the car. If the car does what you need it to do and you aren't unhappy with it, stick with it. You can easily get 200K+ out of a Honda.

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Very much this. It's an easy trap to fall in to but in most cases new car depreciation far exceeds the cost of maintenance of an older one. Especially on a 90s Honda mechanical issues are relatively cheap and easy to fix. Once you get serious rust it's probably time to get rid of it.

I'm currently at 190k on a 2003 BMW 5 series with (on average) about $1000/year in maintenance. Even a 5 year old one would depreciate harder than that.

Heylel_sl said:

I'm considering a Volt, and wondered if anyone out there had one.

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No experience with the Volt, and I think I've seen all of three on the road.

If you are after an efficient vehicle, consider a new Mazda 3. For 18K to 25K you can get a 30/40mpg gas car that is actually fun to drive. It makes the $32K Lexus CT look like a bad deal.

If you can quality for a low rate, I don't really see a problem with financing a car.

Well, I won't have any choice but to finance. Our savings won't cover it, especially after some costly home repairs, and my Xterra is right at 150k miles. The transmission is beginning to slip again so it is only a matter of time, and when I had to replace it at 90k the repairs $4200. I'm also due for new tires, another $600, and breaks within 10k miles. I've been rear ended four separate times (three of them by drivers without licenses), and have a little unrepaired damage to the front grill from the last one that bumped me into another vehicle and insurance refused to fix. It is time for me to get rid of this vehicle, because the maintenance costs are getting pretty high.

The reason I'm looking at a Volt is because they just dropped 5k on the 2014 models, and used 2013s are identical. A local shop has a certified pre-owned with 10k miles for 24k (haven't haggled over it), or I can lease a new one and benefit from the $7500 federal tax credit. The Leaf is an even better lease option in Georgia because it qualifies for another $5000 in tax incentives, but I'm leery of a 50 mile round trip commute on an electric only vehicle. Plus, they look goofy.

I realize that leasing is generally unfavorable because you aren't buying any equity in the vehicle, but with electrics and hybrids I'd almost prefer not to have to resell it down the road. I'm also someone who HATES maintenance, the majority of which will be under warranty during the lease period. If I can find a lease for ~$300 or less, then the gas savings alone virtually pay for the lease relative to my current shitty mileage.

Lol at lol financing a car. My car loan is 1.5%. My fucking checking account gets 2.25%. It's free money.

What are people's opinion on Subarus? I was thinking of a 5 door WRX as my next car but it seems a bit on the expensive side and I don't know how Subaru's match up in the "total cost of ownership" figure.